{"id":117,"date":"2014-01-08T04:20:46","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T04:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insideout.insidewp.test\/?p=117"},"modified":"2014-01-08T04:20:46","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T04:20:46","slug":"toonie-party-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2014\/01\/08\/toonie-party-please\/","title":{"rendered":"Toonie Party, Please"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>You may already know this, but there is a lot riding on a birthday party.<\/p>\n

So, when someone says they\u2019re having a party in the ACS gym, I am thrilled. And then, when they tell me it\u2019s a toonie party, my heart almost skips a beat.<\/p>\n

Why? Well, let me invite you into a moment in my week…<\/p>\n

So, I get this text from E\u2019s teacher:<\/p>\n

Is E going to B’s birthday after school?<\/span>
\nYes and I’ll bring a present. Pick up 4:30 I’m assuming.<\/span>
\nYes. Pick up 4:30. B’s mom was wondering.<\/span>
\nYes. Thanks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, I don\u2019t get any information home from school, so knew nothing about the party. I don\u2019t have time to stop on the way home to get a present and have no cash in my wallet (except a toonie, incidentally). But, this is a present party. Oh, the pressure!<\/p>\n

So, I do the only thing I can think of in this moment and scrounge through my desk to come up with a present for the birthday girl. This is one of those times I\u2019m glad I’m a teacher! I find a gift bag and start collecting all the things in my classroom that I know I have purchased on my own.<\/p>\n

A box of new crayons, some coloured paper, a dozen candies, a nose flute (yes, a nose flute), a kooshie pen, a few fancy pencils and a Happy Birthday bookmark. My smug smile of satisfaction proves victory over the present crisis! How could any kid not love this collection of teacher-desk items?!?<\/p>\n

I drive across town and even make it in time for pick-up (I’ll leave my “I never get anywhere on time since I’ve had kids” post for another day) and run breathless into the gym. Here, I am confronted with confused looks from the parents who have been helping out at the party.<\/p>\n

I scan the room for my child.<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cWhere’s E?\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cShe didn’t come.\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cShe\u2019s not here?\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cI think she went home on the bus.\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cI wish she was here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Awesome.<\/p>\n

My lame present just started looking lamer.
\nSmug smile gone.
\nPhone home. Recount the story of this to E, who is home, playing Lego. I also mention that I gave her friend a gift bag full of treasures. Then E says, \u201cWhy did you do that Mom? I gave her a card already.\u201d<\/p>\n

True story.<\/p>\n

So, how can our gift-giving be a mindful act of sharing and celebration? (Don\u2019t get me wrong here, I love giving and getting presents! But, I am struggling with the notion of getting more than we give). I am thankful for a school that encourages this. But, my kids don\u2019t need more stuff. So, I encourage the toonie party. One less thing to buy. It\u2019s a simple token of showing that you care to spend time and celebrate with me.<\/p>\n

FYI\u2026My kids will be having birthdays in the ACS gym.
\nIf you\u2019re invited, pick up is at 4:30\u2026and, please bring a toonie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may already know this, but there is a lot riding on a birthday party. So, when someone says they\u2019re having a party in the ACS gym, I am thrilled. And then, when they tell me it\u2019s a toonie party, my heart almost skips a beat. Why? Well, let me invite you into a moment […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,14],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elementary","category-parents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}